Browse by Artist: HALF JAPANESE

Artist:	HALF JAPANESE
Title:	Sing No Evil
Label:	DRAG CITY
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	DC 173CD

"The year was 1984. In the second of two releases on the infamous Iridescence label, Half Japanese presented Sing No Evil, along with Our Solar System, to a decidedly younger and less jaded public than the kind we've got on our hands today. The fourth proper Half Japanese LP found the group streamlining their sound ever so slightly. What may sound like rawness to the uninitiated could actually be regarded as slick by fans of the initial Half Japanese releases. Sing No Evil featured cleaner production, fewer songs, and a more cohesive group sound."

Artist:	HALF JAPANESE
Title:	Our Solar System
Label:	DRAG CITY
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	DC 174CD

"David Fair was the principal songwriter on Our Solar System, which perhaps explains why Half Japanese released a whole other LP in the same year. It seems Jad Fair had a few more songs up his sleeve as well. The brothers Fair are accompanied in their group by members of The Velvet Monkeys on Our Solar System, and by The Orthotonics on Sing No Evil. Our Solar System is speckled with cover tunes from some of the groups that turned them on. The sound of this music is rough-hewn, high energy, art punk, complete with a home-recorded vibe, saxophone parts that honk and drone, and lyrics that explore romance from the point of view of unrequited love and lust."

Artist:	HALF JAPANESE
Title:	Loud and Horrible
Label:	DRAG CITY
Format:	CD
Price:	$13.50
Catalog #:	DC 270CD

"Most of the music found on Loud and Horrible hasn't seen release on compact disc -- until now. Having self-released a 7" EP in the original year punk broke (1977), Half Japanese released their LP 'debut' in 1980, a 3-LP, 50-song opus called 1/2Gentlemen/Not Beasts. With this massive achievement under their belt, they began to evolve into more of a band. Rehearsing at their home in Uniontown, Maryland with a growing group of other musicians, they developed the songs and sound of Loud. And 'loud' is one word that will definitely describe your initial impression of this CD. The pure power of the rock on both Loud and Horrible may strike the uninitiated as utter chaos. However, as Byron Coley notes, 'we can hear the band's first move towards externally graspable organization in the songs on Loud.' Loud and Horrible is a reissue of a classic Half Japanese LP from 1980, plus an EP from 1981, plus extremely rare b-sides and tracks from a flexidisc."

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